Top 5 Most Influential Guitarists

[@RickGraham]

Great to see such a variety of different players in your lists. Keep them coming!

[@Sandemose]

Allan Holdsworth - REH instructional video. This should be possible. Not only to play, but to actually come up with this music and melodic approach. Kurt Rosenwinkel - The next step. Kurt experimented with really wacky tunings on that album, and the chords and songs are unwordly. Robben Ford - (with Yellowjackets, S/T). Best tone and phrasing you can get. Crazy smart with how he builds his solos. Rhethoic masterpieces. Mathias IA Eklundh - Freak Kitchen, Appetizer. The solo on the song Appetizer, Whats the problem, and The New Part are scary smart. The ending track ballad on Spanking Hour, The bitter season is one of my favorite moments with IA. Jerry Cantrell - Black gives way to blue. The song writing, his time feel and his tone is enormous. The perfect rock guitarist in my book. Thanks for your videos. I love them. Best regards.

[@jamesmelton5245]

Rick Graham EVH Yngwie Vai Petrucci Govan

[@jamesmelton5245]

8cspohn yeah there's so many for me even players like Frank gambale or Greg Howe

[@0megacloud]

Here is an unorthodox one. Jani Liimaitainen, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert, Jimi Hendrix, Matt Heafy

[@jamesmelton5245]

0megacloud very nice

[@lanceflanagan]

Bit annoyed i didn't make the list frankly

[@sushantgurung8584]

My top 5 list: 1. Rick Graham 2. Rick Graham 3. Rick Graham 4. Rick Graham 5. Rick Graham

[@nickcosta8062]

Good answer :)

[@owenmoore1976]

Pretty good list, I would've included Rick Graham though.

[@ahmettoktarbek7893]

@@owenmoore1976 yeah! And let's not forget about Rick Graham.

[@GMAJOR613]

têteux!

[@kancu]

5)Greg Howe 4)David Gilmour 3)Paul Gilbert 2)Richie Kotzen 1)Guthrie Govan

[@fletx8858]

Can Memişoğulları Gilmour here too! Such an amazingly emotional guitar legend (as pink floyd of course)

[@UlfhedinnNorsk]

Can Memişoğulları Ah!!! Possibly most amazing list of under appreciated brilliant guitarists! If you like Greg Howe YOU NEED TO HEAR Vitaly Kuprij "High Definition" !AMAZING

[@user-dt1gi8nl7n]

Shawn lane is the master

[@user-dt1gi8nl7n]

Shawn lane is the master

[@Nedwin]

Good choice

[@TheSwordsPathChannel]

1. Nick Jonas 2. Lil' Wayne the rest are irrelevant

[@joharimohamed6474]

🤣🤣🤣

[@NKN82]

3. Richard Benson.

[@UlfhedinnNorsk]

The Sword's Path How dare you not mention Richard Benson 😒

[@hectorgonzalez9170]

What the fuck you forgot Madonna and Taylor Swift

[@an_38kitkashyap]

@@NKN82 RichardBensonRichardBenson RichrdBenson...... #Stevie T

[@AndreaPalazzoGUITAR]

5. EVH 4. Malmsteen 3. Paul Gilbert 2. Joe Satriani 1. Jason Becker

[@julifer9211]

Andrea Palazzo wow i agree 100%

[@harrisonmandic2272]

Andrea Palazzo for me that's my list but john petrucci instead of the satch and James hetfield instead of evh and not in that order

[@Pablito5614]

Good list

[@ingoms6891]

any list with Jason Becker as first should be right :)

[@AndreaPalazzoGUITAR]

@@harrisonmandic2272 thanks for your answer ... please tell me your list ... 😉

[@Julianjahbless]

1. Lil Wayne 2. Nick Jonas 3. Obama 4. My fidget spinner 5. Mom

[@JonasRosenven]

Pretty good list. I would add Vinh Bui to mine.

[@Amber57499]

My mommy definitely takes first place.

[@kaseypritchard9502]

fuck you, Obama is number 1!!

[@weemonkey7306]

1. Jay Z 2. Paddington 3. Justin Beiber 4. Mr Potato Head 5. The Edge

[@poulwinther]

What about Meg?

[@SebastianSalinasOficial]

1- Shawn Lane 2- Yngwie Malmsteen 3- Gary Moore 4- Guthrie Govan 5- Allan Holdsworth

[@sebi7958]

1. Shawn Lane

[@Shmucko21]

All fucking day

[@TommoGuitar]

He can't be influential: nobody can play his stuff :)

[@simonpreston1693]

@Tommaso Tufarelli, Guthrie Govan can (rarely, but he does do it). Pretty sure there aren't many others though.

[@simonpreston1693]

I've seen him do excerpts from 'Esperanto' & 'Get you Back' in a clinic. I did say it wasn't often & although not perfect (according to Guthrie, sounded pretty accurate to me though), they were damn good interpretations.

[@an_38kitkashyap]

1. Jason Becker 2. Marty Friedman 3. George Lynch 4. Steve Vai 5. Yiengwie Malmsteen 6. Mark Knofler 7. Dimebag Darrel 8. Jacky Vincent 9. Angel Vivaldi 10. Jason Richardson 11. Tim Henson, Manuel Gardner Farnendes, Ichika Nito 12. Eric Clapton

[@paulvinova]

1. Eric Johnson 2. Gurhrie Govan 3. Paul Gilbert 4. Yngwie Malmsteen 5. Kirk Ha... trolol Marty Friedman

[@Bryan1234580]

C O N S T A N T V A R I A B L E S haha same

[@MhD39]

lol

[@nopotato4217]

Why are people pressured into not liking Kirk? Sure, he's rusty now, but in his prime, he was untouchable. He has written some of the most influential and catchy solos/riffs ever that go incredibly well with the songs they are written for. No, I'm not talking about his Hardwired solos, I'm talking about RTL, One, Leper Messiah, Battery, Creeping Death, Blackened, The Day That Never Comes, etc. Sure, he may use excessive amounts of Wah, but at this point it's just his style.

[@MhD39]

Yeah I totally agree. And the solos from the unforgiven 1 2 and 3 they're great. I think he gets the hate since he became sloppy with his playing as well as his writing.

[@cartervogt1663]

C O N S T A N T V A R I A B L E S it's so great to see Eric Johnson get the love he deserves. Awesome player

[@samdepaepe6534]

Influential for me :) - Mark Knopfler - Angus Young - James Hetfield - Guthrie Govan - John Petrucci

[@lucaszembrzuski]

My Five Kings: Allan Holdsworth, Shawn Lane, Scott Henderson, Greg Howe and John Scofield.

[@Gabrielpossa]

The ones that changed my playing the most were: 1) Guthrie Govan 2) Martin Miller 3) Claudio Pietronik 4) Paul Gilbert 5) Rick Graham :) Jack Gardiner and Mateus Asato deserve a spot in there too! :D

[@uriyagilo58]

Claudio pietronik is one of the most underrated guitar players alive

[@taylorailshie6440]

Yeah man you can currently see Jack Gardiner grow as a player with his channel.

[@robertplant1760]

5. Peter green 4. Buddy guy 3. Tony Iommi 2. David gilmour 1. Jimmy Page

[@poulwinther]

Have only met two of those guys but good list.

[@webbc99]

1. Tom Morello - such creativity with his sound. 2. Joe Satriani - love the "voice" that he produces with his guitar 3. Steve Vai, incredible use of vibrato and harmonics 4. Adam Jones, taught me that less is sometimes more, and fell in love with odd time signatures 5. Probably you, Rick :D

[@rotkiv5446]

Mine are: 1. Buckethead 2. Bill Kelliher 3. Mikael Åkerfeldt 4. Nick Johnston 5. Nick Drake

[@lamecasuelas2]

Rotkiv Bill is so cool

[@brittbranton]

Rotkiv good list

[@Will-qw7rm]

Bill Kelliher fuck yeh

[@LifeEnjoyer463]

and Nick Jonas

[@fozza3232]

I love buckethead, I love Bill K but honestly I think nick Johnston is fucken ghey 😂

[@danbenkert]

Rick would you please play "Flying in A Blue Dream " ?? We would absolutely love to hear you play this in your own way . Who else wants to hear Rick play Flying in a Blue Dream" ????? Comment or give thumbs up to get Rick to do this one.

[@ESPSJ]

YES PLEASE

[@thorndog100]

Do it do it do it...Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease..

[@ryanmackenzie9732]

most deffo please

[@MrTroyBettis]

Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, Richie Kotzen, Shawn Lane, Joey Tafolla, Vinnie Moore, Tony Macalpine, and you Rick. You have been a huge inspiration since I found your videos on KZbin....thanks brother!!!

[@MrTroyBettis]

OHHH and Andy James....HUGE influence right now as well!

[@michaelsheehan5244]

Troy Bettis Joey Tafolla’s work on Jag Panzer’s the Fourth Judgement is mind boggling. Ranks up there with Friedman on Rust in Peace for some of the best metal guitar recordings ever.

[@MyJuicehole]

The first guitarist that just completely blew my mind was Malmsteen. It's kind of funny, but for those of you that played Guitar Hero 2 on Xbox 360, you might recall the "Yngwie Malmsteen" achievement, which was to get a 1k note streak. I had no idea who Malmsteen was, so I naturally went to find videos of him. I think the first video I found was him playing Far Beyond the Sun, and I was absolutely floored by how good he was. I had never heard his neoclassical sound before and I was convinced that he must be the best guitarist in the world (before that, I thought that Kirk Hammett was the pinnacle of guitar playing so, yeah, pretty big jump). I had been playing guitar for maybe a year at that point, but was completely awful. Malmsteen was actually my first motivation to really take my guitar playing seriously. Petrucci, Gilbert, Vai, Loomis, Richardson, and Gottardo have probably been the biggest influences for me.

[@ivorlongshot]

1. Jeff Loomis 2. Jason Becker 3. Steve Vai 4. Satch 5. Paul Gilbert.

[@mikenuzzo3323]

Dadofthreemonsters Randy Rhoads Van Halen

[@JavierBustacara]

Here's my top 5 (No particular order): Paul Gilbert Marco Sfogli Rick Graham Ron Jarzombek Jason Becker

[@albertogiachetti3162]

Thumbs up for Marco

[@BDaMonkey]

Javier Bustacara Ruiz Ron Jarzombek is insane. Blotted Science and Watchtower are some good shit.

[@JavierBustacara]

BDaMonkey Ron is just out of this world. Best wishes man

[@bastianodimebag]

Marco is simply fantastic

[@JavierBustacara]

Federico Caputo Insanely melodic!

[@damjanradulovic5496]

Just to mention some of my favorites in no particular order of importance: 1. Shawn Lane 2. Andy Timmons 3. Steve Lukather 4. George Lynch 5. Reb Beach

[@solari251]

i really miss John Petrucci. i think who is the most complex and one of the most influencing guitar player, his early solo works was huge impact on the modern guitar playing.

[@bassmanjordan1139]

1. Eddie hazel 2. Stevie ray Vaughan 3. Andres Segovia 4. George benson 5. Elvis Costello

[@batmanandrobin250]

My top 5 most influential guitarists (In order) 1. Stevie Ray Vaughan 2. Jimi Hendrix 3. Robert Johnson 4. B.B. King 5. John Lee Hooker What's yours?

[@frankotorresmusic6791]

1. John Frusciante 2. Guthrie Govan 3. Nick Johnston 4. Aaron Marshall 5. Plini

[@minimoogle3335]

1-Lil Wayne 2-Lil Wayne 3-Lil Wayne 4- Lil Wayne 5- Nick Jonas

[@Jinx-iw6zb]

mini moogle lil wayne is the most influential guitarist till now

[@lorenvburrell]

LOL!!! Brilliant!!! Throwing in Nick Jonas at the end is the best.

[@Chord_The_Seeker]

Aw come on, Nick deserves the number 3 spot.

[@maaaaaap]

i would change 1 and 2 but otherwise solid list

[@EXTREMEKIWI115]

1- Lil Wayne 2- Fred Durst 3- Nick Jonas 4- Some guy from Guitar Center 5- Guy who pretends to be good, but actually uses guitar pro.

[@Zeewanzeewan]

i love rick's first sentence at the beginning of the video .When u say extremely well out there its like out of the world

[@nailguitar]

Thumbs up to your faves of Crystal Planet and The Extremist, their both magic!

[@gustavoguerraguitarrista]

Amazing!

[@Robertskter]

Faz uma lista sua no seu canal também GG

[@StratOnFire]

GGuerra Jorge O FACÃO entrou na sala...

[@lucasfrnhy5359]

Leonardo Motta Jorge O Facão saiu da sala... hauahau

[@JhOtheGuitarist]

Jorge o fação entra na sala novamente

[@aaronbergAPB]

Ed Van Halen, Wes Montgomery, Chet Atkins,, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth

[@mickctout]

Greatest List, it contains all technics and styles!!! Tapping, octave technic, chords melody , chicken picking, edgy guitar riffs, baroque-inspired riffs, ultra fast shredding, fast legato style utilizing hammer-ons and complex chording, much more :)

[@lucasfrnhy5359]

My top 5 influential guitarist 1- Stéphan Forté 2- Paulo Schroeber 3- Gustavo Guerra 4- Michael Romeo 5- J. Becker

[@Joao-py6rj]

olha o br aí. schroeber é um monstro mesmo

[@tastetesttuesday1607]

5.Chris Letchford 4.David Maxim Mixic 3.Nick Johnston 2.Aaron marshal 1.Plini

[@cesararias4633]

The only difference between yours and mine, is that I would put Sithu Aye on number 5! But over all, incredible list!!!

[@imtiazsk2991]

Very unique list and I love all of the above mentioned guitarist.

[@1fprrlxk]

Prog thingys going on here! Great list.

[@kovidrupauliha2146]

Plini is my favourite Guitarist too!

[@thereisnolifehere]

Chanse Love you forgot jakub zytecki

[@DanielVerberne]

I'm in huge agreement with so much of what you say, Rick. I agree completely about Satch.

[@JuanKGM]

Thank you Rick! Here´s my 5: (No particular order) 1. Alejandro Silva 2. Alex Skolnick 3. Kiko Loureiro 4. Jeff Waters 5. Adrian Smith Greetings from Colombia!

[@deanwalker3710]

Every time I watch George Lynch I’m blown away. Find his one of the hardest styles to emulate.

[@YashGadwal]

1. RICK GRAHAM 2. The main guy from Meshuggah. 3. Allan Holdsworth 4. Tom Quayle 5. Frank Gambale.

[@seankelly5906]

1. Eric Johnson 2. Steve Lukather 3. Greg Howe 4. Vinnie Moore 5. Robin ford

[@romy_band]

"Who is the best is subjective." Well... That's only 50% true. There are 2 ways in which guitar players can be evaluated: one is fully objective, the other one is subjective (i.e. "who I like to listen to"). The obective way is to assess the guitar playing techniques players have: both their repertoire and their level of mastery. This is exactly what all music students go through in music schools. For instance, a player who has mastered (i.e. comfortably uses in a musical context), say, two hand tapping, sweep picking arpeggios, is more advanced that a player who has not mastered these techniques. The other factor, though, is fully subjective (i.e. "I prefer listening to X's songs than to Y's songs", etc.). Rick Graham -- you are excellent in both categories. Greetings from Poland.

[@Purely_Chris]

1.Dave Suzuki- his stuff with vital remains just adds an amazing musical characteristic to something that would otherwise be mostly chaotic 2. Joe Stump- his playing is so clean and inspiring and taking lessons from him has pushed me to play better and be influenced by his dedication and knowledge 3. Rick Graham- nothing to say just incredible 4. Jason Becker- his playing is some of the most soulful playing I've heard and even in his current condition his musical mind never stops its just brilliant and inspiring 5. Brendon Smalls- overall great player and musician

[@cristianchevrolet4]

5- Lee Ritenour 4-Larry Carlton 3-Gustavo Cerati 2-Jeff Beck 1-Steve Lukather

[@rs-xr3ty]

Satriani is number one for me too. Just an absolute master of melody and I love how he tells the story through those melodies

[@Slears]

my list (if we talk about Hard Rock / Metal) Robert Johnson - the first real guitar idol Chuck Berry - he invented Rock n Roll Jimy Hendrix - nuff said Eddie van Halen - he wrote the book for modern guitar (some kind the Rodney Mullen of Guitar players) Yngwie - he was not the first neoclassical player, but he pushed the whole guitar scene to another level

[@lar208]

Hi Rick! My 5 guitar players are 1.Shawn Lane 2.Tony MacAlpine 3.Frank Gambale 4.Winnie Moore 5.Rick Graham. Regards: Lasse from Sweden

[@EvilLadderGaming]

Mine are: - Jimi Hendrix - Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen) - Josh Homme (QotSA) - John Fruiciante (RHCP) - Adam Jones (Tool)

[@brycepagey888]

I know I could never reach your standard but your top 5 blew me away! Respect!!!

[@YoniSpod]

My current inspirations are Satriani, Guthrie Govan, Plini, Nick Johnston, and Petrucci

[@nazgulresebo]

1. Charlie Parra 2. Nick Johnson 3. Andy james 4. Tyler Larson 5. ...And of course! Rick Graham!

[@cleaningsuplydepot8595]

I like ground breaking guitarist those who influenced other great guitarist and those that have a melodic essence in their playing not just speed only 1 .Michael Schenker who influenced Randy Rhodes, Kirk Hammett, Vinnie Moore, and a whole list of other great guitarist 2. Neal Schon how can you not like his melodic sense and phrasing not to mention his control in his string bends 3. Van Halen sure tapping was around before Eddie but Eddie brought it to life in a new way of playing, not to mention Eddie's insane creativity! 4. Yngwie Malmsteen sure he was influenced by Ritchie Blackmore, Uli Roth and Michael Schenker but he paved a lot of the way for the Neo Clasisscal movement in the 80's to a whole new level not to mention, the desire for guitarist to learn scales and theory. Thank you Yngwie! =) 5. Steve Morse has influenced many great guitarist like John Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, and other great guitarist, Steve is know for his diversity of playing many styles and being extremely exceptional, Steve has brought another level of skill into playing the guitar, not to mention the many awards he's won at being the best guitarist! wow! Just my take there are many other guitarist I love including your playing Mr. Graham cudos! Thanks for sharing!

[@StephenChapman]

Excellent call with Nuno. What an immensely talented guitarist! His approach to the instrument bears such a unique mark that you INSTANTLY know it's him--regardless of if it's note choice, phrasing, or his picking/strumming technique.

[@imtiazsk2991]

1.Guthrie Govan 2. Buckethead 3. Steve Vai 4. John Petrucci 5 .Shawn Lane

[@havardstre4269]

Imtiaz Sk our lists are identical xD

[@lew4kids]

Motorcycle Driver from the Extremist is just a beautiful piece. Not as well known as some other amazing Satch compositions. I love the outro, just such great driving music. Keep it up Rick and have an amazing day!

[@TobyKBTY]

A lot of killer guitarists today, but these 5 solidified the phrasing and sounds in my head! 5. Gary Moore 4. Jeff Beck 3. Jason Becker (hard choice between Jason and Yngwie...but I'm a sucker for Jason's phrasing and his tragic story always gets me. I hope the guy recovers one day!) 2. Satch 1. Van Halen

[@TheGreatNegative]

I'm so stoked to hear new music from Rick

[@kopashred]

1. Jason Becker 2. Marty Friedman 3. Yngwie Malmsteen 4. Eddie Van Halen 5. Uli Jon Roth (my top 5)

[@mikenuzzo3323]

kopashredder Randy Rhoads

[@chusssMusic]

Satriani,Gary Moore, David Gilmour,Andy Timmons,Vinnie Moore. I agree with you "The Extremist" is one of the best instrumental rock albums in the history , "The Forgotten II" of of the best instrumental ballads. It would be great if you can make an episode dedicated to satch instrumentals. Keep rocking

[@OmarIsuf]

Dude decent picks but where the fuck is Nick Jonas!?

[@NickF97S]

OmarIsuf Omar! You play guitar bro??

[@heybuddy6794]

1 - Eric Johnson 2 - Prince 3 - Jeff Buckley 4 - Billy Corgan 5 - Andy Mckee Not super sure on the order, but they are probs my biggest!

[@ianguitarman4800]

Great selections there Rick. I have to include Mr EVH and more recently the utterly incredible Guthrie Govan. His soloing on Steven Wilson's work is mind blowing and I had the pleasure of watching him live this year with Hans Zimmer. Speechless. Oh..and Petrucci! What a G3 tour that would be...including your goodself of course.

[@AxelShelleyMusic]

joe satriani Guthrie Govan yngwie malmsteen Gary Moore Rick Graham

[@shizokiller]

5. Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy) 4. Martin Barre (Jethro Tull) 3. Darrell Lance Abbott (Pantera) 2. Buck Dharma (Blue Oyster Cult) 1. Frank Zappa

[@xxJingoxx999]

1. Dimebag Darrell 2. Kirk Hammett 3. Randy Rhoads 4. Jeff Hanneman/Kerry King 5. Eddie Van Halen

[@GoldsCovers]

Love the old footage of you and your bro, i still watch that a lot. I can imagine you guys talking about music all night

[@psylopanda2841]

Jeff Beck???...Anyone???

[@MrShadowofthewind]

It's a hard guitarist to pin point to a playstyle, because he has changed it alot during all those years, but i don't think that anyone would deny the fact that he is absolutely one of the best !

[@antoinepaine8097]

Guillermo Rolon THANK YOU GOD THAT MAN! He's getting better at the age of 70 something 😂😱😱

[@samyard]

I love him

[@patrickobrien7647]

YES!!!

[@mattcarpenter6986]

In chronological order of guitarists that have inspired me to play guitar and the solo/song. 1. Brian May - I want it all 2. Dave Gilmour - shine on 3. Kirk hammett - enter sandman 4. Yngwie malmsteen - far beyond the sun 5. Andy James- angel of darkness If I could add two more it would be, vai- for the love of god and Shawn lane - grey pianos flying.

[@julianmorgan7834]

1 Steve vai 2 Joe sariani 3 John petrucci 4 yngwie malmsteen 5 Eric Johnson

[@billzakill1257]

1.Randy Rhoads 2.Eddie Van Halen 3.Steve Vai 4.Paul Gilbert 5.Joe Satriani

[@besadethrxsh]

Randy Rhoads ❤😢

[@YutsiAion]

5 of mine were you Rick

[@reffo]

1. Angus Young - He sparked my interest for guitar and made me get into rock music 2. Kirk Hammet/James Hetfield - These guys made me start practicing 3. Dimebag Darrell - Taught me the ways of the riff and powerful solos 4. Paul Gilbert - Got me interested in technical shredding 5. Fredrik Thordendal - Meshuggah is my favorite band of all time; but he also sparked an interest in jazz playing for me because of his "Holdsworthian" playing

[@zarasamo]

1. Aaron Marshall 2. Plini 3. Greg Howe 4. Jakub Żytecki 5. Eric Johnson

[@mraguia5036]

Making me feel really old that your first Satch album was Fyling in a blue dream & Yngwie was Fire & Ice. My top 5: Paul Gilbert Vinnie Moore Steve Vai Yngwie Blues Saraceno

[@mcadder]

It's impossible to not mention Malmsteen. Btw, YOU are one of my top 5 influential guitarists (Ive played guitar for over 30 years). Greetz from Sweden!

[@levijaeger1181]

Malmsteen sucks. He can't write memorable songs. shit.

[@interestingthings8598]

Levi Jaeger saying this is like saying davinci sucks

[@itsthenicolas]

+Levi Jaeger Maybe not memorable to you, but memorable to many others.

[@izinstituta1286]

Wow, why are you such a musical authority that you can say which songs are memorable? I can hum whole Marching Out, Trilogy, Odyssey from beginning to the end. His music is pretty memorable to me. Don't be so arrogant.

[@likeanuuk6612]

+Levi Jaeger fire and ice was a totally memorable album

[@dvsdez]

1. John Petrucci 2. Joe Satriani 3. Steve Vai 4. Yngwie Malmsteen 5. Jeff Loomis 👌

[@stratmanuk]

I don't really know Derek Trucks so I need to check him out! I'd replace Malmsteen with EVH and Derek Trucks with Vito Bratta but that's it, Nuno is a guitar monster par excellence, and that's just for his rhythm playing before we even get to his leads!

[@ethanGuitar]

1. Lord Rick Graham 2. Nick Johnston 3. Guthrie Govan 4. David Maxim Micic 5. Plini

[@JohnTurner61]

Steve Morse?

[@STgauss3268]

The influencer of the influencers..

[@solari251]

For me there are two groups of most influential guitarist. One groups is a solo guitarist: 1.) John Petrucci 2.) Yngwie Malsteen 3.) Eddie Van Halen 4.) Tom Quayle 5.) Glenn Tipton 6.) Paul Gilbert Rhythm guitar works and approach groups: 1.) Michael Hoggard (Ulcerate) 2.) Luc Lemay (Gorguts) 3.) Jakub Zytecki 4.) Pat O'brien 5.) Fredrik Thordenhal & Marten Hagstrom 6.) Jeff Loomis

[@allenhao_]

marty friedman, slash, steve vai, james hetfield, evh (not in any order) for me

[@raymondlacasse2407]

to me... 1st- Alexi Laiho - I bought my 1st guitar 3 hours after I heard "Kissing the Shadows," simply put his choice of phrasing speaks to me. 2nd- Paul Gilbert- love him for what he hates about himself. 3rd- Yngwie - c'mon now. 4th- Syu(Galneryus) dont need to fully speak Japanese to understand his voice. 5th - Mason Williams - The Simpsons introduced me to "Classical Gas" as a child, I loved the modernization of Classical on an acoustic, pretty much Neo-classical with a tone that is more friendly to non-"shredders"

[@uncomfortablepenguin6579]

I'll give a list of my influences that nobody cares about. 1. Brian May. (Underrated guitarist for the ages. Incredibly versatile and skilled) 2. Kirk Hammett 3. Tony Iommi 4. Dave Grohl. (Yes I'm being serious) 5. Angus Young.

[@themariokartlick]

Uncomfortable penguin Brian May has the most recognizable sound of any guitarist imo, great player

[@richf6111]

That's a very mainstream list (and very over rated...Hammett) I think you need to expand your listening mate if you really want to hear fantastic playing.

[@nopotato4217]

Hammett isn't overrated, he gets more shit than almost any guitarist ever, lol. He has written some of the most influential solos in metal history, and just because he's not good now doesn't mean he wasn't incredible in his prime.

[@MarkZabel]

Uncomfortable penguin Yours is a great list. It's not "navel gazing" guitar players. I have respect for guys like Paul Gilbert ... truly ... but he's a craftsman. May, Hammett, and Angus influenced *music* much more. For me, Django, Wes, BB, and then Jimmy and Jimi would be my top influences, with Brian May very close. But I like your list too!

[@Will-qw7rm]

Brian May, nice

[@Samaniego90]

. Greg Howe . Daniele Gottardo . Frank Gambale . Alex Hutchings . Guthrie Govan . Allan Holdsworth . Rick Graham

[@davidfranke8138]

NO STEVE VAI??!?!?!?? WHAAAAAAAAA mine are 1. Steve Vai 2. Randy Rhodes 3. David Gilmour 4.Yngwie Malmsteen 5. Eric Johnson

[@THEDRAWINGSTUDIO1]

David Franke steve vai was influenced by joe satriani. i guess that counts. Steve vai is one of my favorite guitarists and my main influence lately.

[@jackattack3840]

Steve Vai was a student of Joe Satriani at one time

[@Vitor_Morais666]

1- Rick Graham 2- Kiko loureiro 3-Jeff loomis 4-Gustavo Guerra 5-Ximbinha

[@Joao-py6rj]

Chimbinha, you mean, The Guitar God?

[@lamecasuelas2]

for me Bob Fripp Steve Howe Andy Summers Lindsey Buckingham Chet Atkins

[@MrUmandMrEr]

1. Eddie Van Halen 2. Jimi Hendrix 3. Ritchie Blackmore 4. Michael Schenker 5. Joe Satriani. ...etc

[@pragyannath]

Guthrie govan john petrucci jason Richardson Rick graham Kirk hammett

[@imtiazsk2991]

Except for Kirk Hammett all of the others are amazing :)

[@TheDerler]

Imtiaz Sk gotta say that the ride the lightning and one solos are really great, at least for me it fits perfectly to the songs, I know he's really sloppy now but I really liked his early stuff

[@dougsteeleguitar]

Satch rocks. I was into the first two albums but always appreciate that his songs are really cleverly thought out; not music beds for solos. Mine are EVH, Lynch, Becker, Gilbert, gypsy jazz dudes.

[@kindnick58]

EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEMLY

[@ferventwish4343]

i'm glad to hear your elaboration on why derek trucks had such a huge inspirational influence on you. especially since you're known as a sort of shred guitarist i guess. for me he's been the most influential player out there, his intonation is just beyond any verbal poetry govan is the most versatile guitarist i've yet to hear. and eric jonhson's cleanliness and tone, usage of pinch harmonics and just overall sense of musiality is just thrilling

[@Jinx-iw6zb]

My most influential 5 guitarists 1-Randy rhoads 2-Dave mustaine 3-Dimebag darrell 4-Slash 5-Steve vai

[@Eddu13]

For me the as well: 1-Joe Satriani - music genius, the one and only. Nobody makes music like him. 2- Eric Johnson. Unbelievable music, unique style of playing, so clean, melodic and super difficult 😫 3- Slash. I don't even think He knows scales, just pure music and talent 4- Brian May. Another one that is so musical 5- Buckethead. He is the last I discovered in early 2000s and this guy is like Satch, from a different planet, I don't know how it is possible to have so many great, beautiful music like He does,.in all different style and still unique. I like Gary Moore, Buddy guy, Gilmour, Vai, and many some others, but.the top 5 I listen to them day in day out.

[@davevowels7568]

RANDY RHOADS INSPIRED ALL OF THOSE DUDES ......I HAD TO PUT ON YOUR LIST ......

[@gitarmats]

Solid list! For me it might be 1. Bumblefoot 2. Guthrie Govan 3. Shawn Lane 4. Early on Buckethead was my go to inspiration. 5. Yngwie Malmsteen. Hearing the Rising Force solo for the first time changed my life forever.

[@alwilliams1997]

Hey Rick, what about the Late Great Shawn Lane?

[@jackburton3149]

Thing is, he said "influential", not "best" or "favorites". I for one first heard of him waay later than I heard of Satch, Yngwie, Johnson, Nuno and co., and even after I heard my first track of him (Lane) on some shredder compilation, it didn't really stand out for me as anything that was played fast sounded just as good to me at the time...

[@alq1967]

no one mentioned John McLaughlin... my favourite

[@genghislad6195]

maybe Yngwie Malmsteen is the most influenced shred guitarist ever,he is litteraly present in every musican's influential list

[@JacobZirkin]

1. Paul Gilbert 2. Eddie Van Halen 3. Steve Vai 4. Jason Becker 5. Yngwie Malmsteen

[@ThatRandomGuyInTheComments]

Rabea Massaad Nuno Bettencourt Per Nilsson Jakub Zytecki Guthrie Govan

[@benscott8111]

In no particular order: 1. Joe Satriani 2. Yngwie Malmsteen (Alcatrazz / late '80s era) 3. Andy Timmons 4. Greg Howe 5. Vinnie Moore

[@downshifter2730]

My number 1 would be Glenn Tipton